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Marvel Champions lets players step into the shoes of several famous Marvel heroes, but the game's deck-building rules mean that it can be hard to assess the effectiveness of any given character. While each comes with fifteen cards that they must include in their deck for all games, players select the other 25 to 35 from an ever-growing pool of basic and aspect cards.

This deck-building method helps prevent power creep, and it also means that some initially underwhelming characters have since become much more playable. Also important to remember is that Marvel Champions plays very differently in solo mode compared to multiplayer. While more focused characters struggle to do everything themselves, they're still powerhouses when teammates can help cover their weaknesses.

10 Thor

Thor may be one of the strongest Avengers in most Marvel media, but fans didn't respond very positively to the God of Thunder's initial release in Marvel Champions. While most heroes have some level of versatility built into their hero decks that allows them to explore various playstyles, the only thing that Thor did well was kill minions.

However, since Thor's release, several minion-heavy villains and Aggression cards that synergize with minion killing have been released. Thor's relatively limited playstyle still makes him a poor choice for solo games, but he now has enough tools available to make him a force to be reckoned with in multiplayer.

9 Iron Man

When he's up and running, Iron Man is an incredibly powerful character. The challenge for many players is that it takes several turns to get Tony Stark combat-ready. As one would expect, Iron Man is all about upgrades. While his base stats are low, various tech upgrades boost Iron Man's stats well above any other character in the game.

Because he can get upgrades out more quickly in alter-ego form, many players prefer to put him in the Justice aspect. This lets Tony deal with building threat levels that come from staying in alter-ego.

8 Spider-Man

Like his comic counterpart, Peter Parker is a hero that villains have a hard time laying a hit on. Spider-Man may have come pre-paired with a Justice deck in the Marvel Champions core set, but he shines in multiplayer games in the Protection affiliation. Spider-Man's base defense of three means that he can tank several hits with his normal defense, so he pairs well with cards like Indomitable or Expert Defense that let him ready after defending against an attack. His backflip hero card is also fantastic as it lets him take zero damage from an attack regardless of its strength.

7 Quicksilver

Pietro Maximoff is one of the fastest men alive, and his incredible speed is reflected in Marvel Champions by his ability to ready himself after performing a basic action. While this is good for attacking or thwarting twice, it also means that he can defend without sacrificing actions on his next turn.

Quicksilver also has a helpful alter-ego ability, Superpowered Siblings, that lets him discard two cards to draw two. This is a great way to cycling through dead cards for something more useful, and he gets to draw a third card if Scarlet Witch is also in play.

6 Gamora

Gamora is one of the bravest members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and she's also one of the most popular characters in Marvel Champions. Gamora is one of few heroes that can include cards from multiple aspects in her deck. This twist makes her a versatile character that's able to adapt to different villains and schemes.

Gamora's big bonus is that she does one free damage when she plays a thwart event and thwarts one threat when she plays an attack event (once per turn for each). This ability is fantastic in solo games where scheme threat limits and enemy health are low, but it's slightly less impactful in multiplayer games since the power/thwart doesn't scale per player like enemies do.

5 Captain America

Captain America was one of the earliest character packs released for Marvel Champions, and he immediately established himself as a powerhouse for both solo and group play. This is true for the Marvel Comics version of Captain America, who ranks as the best Avenger due to his masterful fighting ability.

Steve Rogers isn't the single best character at anything in the game, but he's good at absolutely everything. With the unpredictability in Marvel Champions, the lack of a glaring weakness means that Captain America players rarely find themselves in a bad matchup. Steve also gets to start each game with his famous vibranium shield, so he's very consistent and can get into action right away on turn one.

4 Spider-Woman

There have been more since her release, but Spider-Woman, in any of her plentiful alternate versions, was the first character to use cards from multiple aspects simultaneously. Using multiple aspects gives her incredible versatility and lets her thrive in either solo or multiplayer games.

Her low basic stats may seem like a downside, but she gets +1 to her Attack, Thwart, and defense for each different aspect she plays a card from each turn. While this does mean that the occasional lousy draw can leave her temporarily hobbled, it's not very challenging to boost her stats up to average or higher.

3 Ant-Man

Ant-Man and the Wasp were the first two heroes to have more than two forms. While both have hero and standard alter-ego sides, their character cards unfold to reveal a second hero form. Ant-Man has proven to be the more versatile of the two Pym-powered heroes, and he excels with several great character cards that take advantage of his tiny and giant forms.

Army of Ants (which Scott has three of in his hero deck) let players do one damage to anything per turn per card. While this doesn't seem like much, it enables ant-man ping to Tough off enemies or take out low-health minions without using his basic actions. Ant-Man's helmet is also fantastic and lets him draw a card or heal every time he changes hero forms.

2 Venom

Fans were excited and confused when data leaks showed the Venom was going to be releasing in the middle of several Guardians of the Galaxy packs, but it made a little more sense when it was revealed that this character is the Flash Thompson host of the Venom symbiote, who spent a bit of time with the Guardians.

Venom focuses on using weapons, and his unique Multi-Gun gives players several damaging and thwarting options. Venom's ability to generate a wild resource in exchange for taking one damage means Flash can play more cards per turn than most heroes, and Project Rebirth 2.0 lets him draw or heal whenever he flips to his alter-ego.

1 Dr. Strange

When he was released, Dr. Strange was the strongest character in the game, and nothing has changed in the 15 months since. The Sorceror Supreme's unique gimmick is his invocation deck, a set of five spells that exist apart from his standard hero deck. He can only play the top card and must exhaust after using a spell, but his deck contains multiple ways to cycle cards, ready himself, or reuse spells more than once in a row.

The result is that Strange wants to use most of his resources for playing spell cards, so his aspect choice is relatively inconsequential. One powerful option is to play Protection and fill his deck with healing cards to keep him from having to flip to his alter-ego too often.

What We Do In The Shadows reintroduces former amateur vampire hunter Derek as a confused new vampire – but how did he turn undead? In What We Do In The Shadows season 3, co-equal vampire council rulers Nadja and Nandor bicker about who gets to sit on the throne, Nandor’s familiar and bodyguard Guillermo convinces them to let him do it, as it solves the lack of a throne figure, and no one would recognize him behind the ceremonial robes.

However, a problem quickly turns up as it is Guillermo who recognizes someone who’s fated for judgment: Derek, an amateur vampire hunter. After Nandor and Nadja sentence Derek to death, Guillermo puts his skills to use once again to free Derek. Guillermo then convinces Nandor and Nadja to spare Derek, on the condition that he works off his transgressions and gets training as a new vampire under Laszlo, who is too drunk to object the ruling.

How did Derek end up becoming a vampire in the first place? In What We Do In The Shadows season 2, episode 3, Guillermo meets Derek as a member of an amateur vampire hunting organization. This could provide more clues regarding Derek’s vampiric origins.

In the What We Do In The Shadows universe, the rules for siring a new vampire are highly similar to that of traditional western vampiric lore. A human must be drained of their blood, and then drink the blood of a vampire, which starts the undead transformation. After the new vampire first consumes human blood, only then will the transformation be complete. This was how Nadja turned the LARPer Jenna into a vampire in What We Do In The Shadows season 1, episode 2. The fact that it’s so easy to turn someone into a vampire is part of why Nandor’s familiar Guillermo is so frustrated that they haven’t turned him into one of them yet. However, while the process is easy to start, it’s not always quick. After drinking Nadja’s blood, Jenna spent several nights thinking that she’s sick, as Nadja never explained that her transformation has begun. This led her to eat food and then vomit it all out, as vampires cannot eat real food.

It takes several nights for Jenna to finally feed on human blood and complete her transformation. This shows how vampires in the What We Do In The Shadows universe don’t always look after the ones they sire, which could be what happened to Derek. After drinking the blood of a vampire, Derek could have simply wandered off, which explains why he knows nothing about the rules that all vampires are supposed to follow.

Derek appears in one of the first episodes that shows Guillermo’s vampire killing skills. While looking for virgin blood for his masters, Guillermo finds an organization called the Mosquito Collectors of the Tri-State Area, which turns out to be a secret organization of amateur vampire hunters. One of these hunters is Derek, who then joins Guillermo on an ill-fated mission to infiltrate a home that’s infested by vampires. While Guillermo manages to kill some vampires and escape with the other hunters, they leave many of the others behind, including Derek. In fact, Derek is missing in the rest of What We Do In The Shadows season 2, suggesting that he died. However, as he resurfaces as a fledgling vampire in season 3, it appears that instead of being killed, he was turned into a vampire after the encounter, and is now a recurring character in What We Do In The Shadows.

What We Do In The Shadows season 3 is yet to dig deeper into Derek’s vampiric origins, leaving much room for speculation. As Derek’s last known encounter with vampires was during the botched hunting mission back in season 2, he was likely sired by one of the vampires that they encountered there. Unlike the home of the main characters of What We Do In The Shadows, which is shared by only 4 vampires, the home that Derek and Guillermo infiltrated was inhabited by more than 10 vampires. Derek could’ve been sired by any one of those vampires at any time during or after the mission. However, it seems that no one stuck around to teach Derek the most basic rules that he needs to follow in order to avoid the ire of What We Do In The Shadows’ vampire council. This means that Derek’s transformation is most likely an accident, and that his sire is unaware that they not only turned an amateur vampire hunter into a vampire, but also abandoned the poor creature.

Meanwhile, another possible explanation is that Derek could’ve gotten his hands on a vial of vampire blood somewhere in the home. As Nadja shows when she turned Jenna into a vampire, some older vampires keep their blood in a vial when they intend to sire another. While it’s unlikely that Derek was turned knowingly, there’s a chance that in his scramble to escape, he could’ve found and kept one of these vials, and then later drank the contents.

Derek is a returning What We Do In The Shadows character who is also likely to appear in more future episodes. This is because Laszlo, whom Guillermo convinced to be Derek’s lawyer during his vampire council trial, is also now in charge of teaching Derek the ways of the modern vampire. In order to work off his transgressions, Derek has also been enlisted by Laszlo to sell the overpriced pillows that his human best friend Sean needs to sell. If Derek becomes a recurring character in the show, the question of who created him, and how, will become even more important. It is rumored that when a vampire’s sire dies, then all the other vampires that they created will die as well. This is an idea that’s been tackled by What We Do In The Shadows season 3, and will likely continue to be explored as the show progresses.

The most important hire in the making of a James Bond movie is the casting of 007 himself, but the second most important is choosing a director. To pull off a great Bond movie, a filmmaker needs to have a fundamental understanding of what makes the character and his stories work, a unique take on the familiar formula, and most importantly, experience with directing action.

When a new Bond movie is in development, the first few choices for the director’s chair might turn down the job, or suffer from creative differences with the producers.

Updated on October 9th, 2021 by Colin McCormick: James Bond fans can finally rejoice with the release of No Time to Die. Daniel Craig's final outing as 007 had a lot of trouble getting to theaters including some director shakeups. It gets fans thinking about the Bond movies that might have been with some big-name filmmakers coming close to joining the franchise in the past. And of course, even with a new movie just hitting theaters, it's hard not to look to the future and wonder what directors might take on Bond someday.

Following the poor reception of Die Another Day, the Bond franchise was certainly looking for a way to add some new energy into the franchise. Interesting, Quentin Tarantino came close to being the director to do so.

Tarantino reportedly met with the producers about an idea of adapting the first Bond movie, Casino Royale, and setting it in the 60s but with Pierce Brosnan returning as Bond. The producers instead decided to replace Brosnan and make Casino Royale with Martin Campbell directing.

Looking at Chloé Zhao's past movies, big-budget franchises wouldn't seem to be in her future. However, her brilliant work in The Rider and the Best Picture-winning Nomadland certainly cemented her as one of the most important filmmakers right now.

Zhao is now subverting expectations by jumping into the MCU to direct Eternals. She seems to be blending her naturalistic and indie filmmaking sensibilities with a blockbuster story. This is certainly an interesting new direction for Marvel and it could be a fascinating way to approach Bond as well.

Steven Soderbergh is an incredibly versatile filmmaker with a wide range of movies throughout his career. He has directed indie dramas like Sex, Lies, and Videotape, fun capers like Ocean's Eleven, and intense thrillers like Contagion. But to see him step into a Bond movie would have been exciting.

Soderbergh confirmed that he was approached to direct a Bond movie which would have seemed to be during the Daniel Craig era. While Soderbergh admitted to being a fan of the franchise, disagreements over the direction of the movie caused him to walk away.

Bong Joon-ho may have been introduced to most American audiences with his Oscar-winning movie Parasite, but he has long established himself as one of the 21st century's best filmmakers. He is another versatile talent whose movies like Memories of Murder and The Host show his distinct style in very different stories.

Joon-ho also has a talent for grounded dark humor in his movies that helps with his very intense stories. For him to bring the suspense and thrills he delivered in Parasite to a Bond movie would be a real treat for fans and something very new for the franchise.

After the success of Dr. No made a Bond franchise viable, the producers were quick to start work on a sequel, From Russia with Love. According to Jalopnik, at one point in the movie’s development, Alfred Hitchcock was reportedly interested in directing.

According to Collider, he was also later considered to direct Thunderball. Hitchcock is responsible for some of the greatest spy movies ever made, from Notorious to North by Northwest, so it would be interesting to see what he would’ve done with a Bond movie.

Having won the hearts of millions of fans with the genre-lampooning Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy and proven himself as an action director with Baby Driver, Edgar Wright is a no-brainer to direct a Bond movie.

After Danny Boyle quit No Time to Die, Wright was on the studio’s shortlist to replace him. As long as studio problems don't arise as they did with Ant-Man, Wright could turn out a fantastic Bond film.

Steven Spielberg was one of the first directors considered for The Spy Who Loved Me. According to The Independent, he’d always wanted to direct a Bond movie and even asked the producers for the opportunity. However, the producers had cold feet due to Spielberg’s lack of filmmaking experience (at the time) and the director already had his hands full with the pre-production on Jaws, so it didn’t happen.

Spielberg later teamed up with George Lucas on Raiders of the Lost Ark because he saw it as an opportunity to create an American answer to James Bond.

After directing two Mission: Impossible movies, and currently working on another two back-to-back, Christopher McQuarrie might not be interested in helming a Bond movie. A director can only make so many espionage-themed blockbusters before wanting a change of pace.

But Mission: Impossible – Fallout blew moviegoers away with its massive action sequences and gargantuan scale. If McQuarrie could bring that to a Bond movie, fans would be in good hands.

In any discussion of the greatest action filmmakers of all time, John Woo is likely to be one of the first names to come up. According to The Guardian, early in development on GoldenEye, the 007 producers wanted to hire Woo to direct, as the early drafts had a crazy number of action sequences and they wanted someone who could handle non-stop visceral action.

Based on Hard Boiled, The Killer, and A Better Tomorrow, Woo was more than qualified. Although he was honored to be offered a Bond movie, Woo turned down the offer. The action scenes from the early drafts ended up being peppered throughout Pierce Brosnan’s subsequent Bond movies.

Throughout the 2010s, Lynne Ramsay quietly emerged as one of the greatest filmmakers working today. Ramsay’s dark, character-focused movies like We Need to Talk About Kevin have proven her to be a formidable cinematic force.

In particular, You Were Never Really Here is proof that Ramsay could direct a gritty, hyperviolent Bond movie that would make Casino Royale look like The Spy Next Door.

According to Warped Factor, having been a huge fan of Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, Barbara Broccoli was eager to hire him to direct The World is Not Enough. However, when she saw Jackson’s supernatural comedy The Frighteners, she turned against his directorial style and changed her mind.

Before Michael Apted was eventually hired to helm the project, Gremlins director Joe Dante was considered for the job.

After he delivered genre thrills and shocking plot twists while keeping the tone grounded in Widows, there’s no doubt that Steve McQueen could make an incredible James Bond movie.

McQueen’s introspective look at flawed characters could deconstruct the Bond mythos in a way that the outdated franchise is desperately crying out for.

Daniel Craig’s final Bond film, No Time to Die, which was due to be released this April before the coronavirus pandemic pushed it back a few months, was initially set to be directed by Danny Boyle.

Boyle later quit the project due to creative differences with the producers and he was replaced by True Detective’s Cary Fukunaga.

Denis Villeneuve is one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. His movies like Sicario and Blade Runner 2049 have been met with huge acclaim. He is also helming one of the most anticipated movies of the year with Dune.

Villeneuve has a talent for making engrossing movies that grab the audience's attention from beginning to end. It would be great to see him put those skills to work on a big-budget spy thriller like Bond. And with Villeneuve being very vocal about his desire to make a Bond movie, it feels like a very real possibility.

Christopher Nolan’s latest movie, Tenet, is a spy thriller, and it looks like it’ll give fans an idea of how a James Bond movie directed by Nolan might play out. Fans also got a glimpse at what a Nolan-helmed 007 set piece would look like with the snowbound shootout in Inception.

But it would be terrific to see Nolan being given carte blanche and IMAX cameras by the Bond producers to go wild with a standalone masterpiece hitting the familiar beats while having a larger Nolan-esque sense of profundity.

It has been confirmed that Pokémon Legends: Arceus will not be an open world game and that it will be closer to the Monster Hunter series than The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, in terms of its gameplay style. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an upcoming RPG that is set in the Hisui region, which is the ancient version of the Sinnoh region from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.

The original trailers for Pokémon Legends: Arceus showed a game that was more akin to Breath of the Wild than the regular mainstream Pokémon games. The player was shown exploring the wild frontier of the Hisui region, with Pokémon wandering around on the world map, in a similar manner to the Wild Areas in Pokémon Sword and Shield. The Hisui region is guarded by Noble Pokémon, which are akin to the massive elite monsters and bosses seen in Breath of the Wild.

The gameplay style in Pokémon Legends: Arceus won't be as free-roaming as the original trailers suggested. In a statement made to Kotaku, The Pokémon Company confirmed that Pokémon Legends: Arceus won't be an open world game. Instead, the gameplay will feature a mission/level-based structure.

"In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Jubilife Village will serve as the base for surveying missions. After receiving an assignment or a request and preparing for their next excursion, players will set out from the village to study one of the various open areas of the Hisui region. After they finish the survey work, players will need to return once more to prepare for their next task. We look forward to sharing more information about exploring the Hisui region soon."

The gameplay style in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is going to be closer to the Monster Hunter series than an open world game. In the Monster Hunter games, the player has a hub area, where they can create gear and prepare meals that add buff effects during hunts. The different hunts send the player to a specific location, where the monster they are seeking is prowling the land. It seems that Pokémon Legends: Arceus will have a similar design, with Jubilife Village being the hub, and the different areas of the Hisui region acting as stages.

It's possible that this design choice was a result of the technical limitations of the Nintendo Switch. Breath of the Wild managed to pull off an open world, but it has been proven in the past that Game Freak has struggled to do similar things with the Pokémon games. The vanishing/appearing Pokémon on the overworld (especially in the Wild Areas) in Pokémon Sword and Shield is a testament to that. The level structure never diminished the fun in the Monster Hunter series, so there's no reason why Pokémon Legends: Arceus won't be just as enjoyable. It's just a shame that the player won't be able to truly explore the Hisui region, in the same manner as Hyrule.

Source: Kotaku

Excitement for Hawkeye is building steadily leading up to its November 2021 premiere, but the addition of Kingpin as the series’ villain would bring the MCU series to a whole new level. Kingpin was the primary villain of Netflix’s critically acclaimed Daredevil series, where he was played tremendously by Vincent D’Onofrio, but because that show hasn’t officially been made part of the MCU canon, the infamous villain has yet to formally appear in the franchise. Here’s why Hawkeye would be the perfect venue to bring Kingpin back.

Traditionally, Kingpin – real name Wilson Fisk – is portrayed as a gargantuan mob boss, who’s sheer physical strength is matched only by his tenacity and strategic prowess. As a New York resident primarily, he’s faced off against numerous Marvel superheroes over the years, with particular rivalries established against Spider-Man and Daredevil. As both a criminal mastermind and an underworld powerbroker, Kingpin has been central to numerous plots throughout the Marvel comics. In the Netflix Daredevil show, Kingpin is portrayed as both shockingly brutal and quietly intellectual – a version of the character that has earned high praise from both critics and audiences.

D’Onofrio has said repeatedly that he’d love to play Wilson Fisk in the MCU once more, and Hawkeye would be the perfect place for the villain to return. The show is set in New York City, and appears to at least partially be about gangsters wanting revenge on Clint for his time as Ronin, making it easy for Kingpin to be worked into the story. Plus, the show will bring the Marvel character Echo (Alaqua Cox) – Fisk’s adopted daughter in the comics – to the MCU, creating multiple ways in which Kingpin might feasibly enter the story of Hawkeye.

Unfortunately, the odds of Kingpin actually returning to the MCU in Hawkeye are small. There have been no real rumors of D’Onofrio returning for the series, nor has any casting news come out about a new star taking on the role. Plus, Black Widow set up Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and Yelena Belova as Hawkeye's major antagonistic forces, or at least as some of them. It could be that Disney is simply keeping the return of Kingpin under wraps, as he does seem perfectly suited to the story of the Hawkeye show, but there’s a good chance that viewers will have to wait a little longer before seeing the villain on screen again.

If Kingpin were to become Hawkeye’s secret villain, however, it would be a glorious return – especially if D’Onofrio were brought back to play the bad guy. Given that the story of Hawkeye will largely focus on Clint and Kate Bishop battling enemies of Ronin – the vigilante identity Hawkeye created after Avengers: Infinity War. Ronin took down a lot of gangsters, so it’s more than likely that he would have disrupted Kingpin’s own criminal operations pretty severely. Does that mean that Fisk will return? Not necessarily, but D’Onofrio’s Kingpin does somehow end up being the main villain of Hawkeye, it would be a great moment for MCU Phase 4.

When Bates Motel completed its five-season run in 2017, many fans were taken aback by how good the show was. The announcement of a Psycho prequel seemed, at first, to be a cheap cash grab on one of the most classic horror films ever made, but the love and care to the franchise shined through as an original yet familiar story was told.

One way the series kept fans on their toes was by essentially remaking the classic slasher in the final season, and changing quite a bit. Fans of Psycho thought they knew what to expect, but the series expertly subverted those expectations while still paying tribute to the Hitchcock classic.

10 Norman Has A Brother

Of all of the characters introduced in Bates Motel, one of the biggest differences from the films is that Norman has an elder brother named Dylan. Dylan and Norman share a mother in Norma, but their fathers differ.

Dylan comes to live with his family when they buy the motel, although he quickly unwillingly falls into a life of crime. Dylan grows to care about his brother, and proves to be the sanest member of the Bates family, although he certainly has his demons.

9 Norman Killed His Father

Psycho revealed that some years prior, Norman had villainously murdered his mother and her lover out of jealous rage, but nothing is known about his biological father. The opening of the pilot episode of the series showed that Norman finds his father deceased after an accident in his garage. This prompts Norma and her son to move and purchase a motel.

Later, Norma reveals to Dylan the truth behind her late husband's demise, and it is Norman. Norman killed his father while defending his mother, and he had no recollection of it. Norma staged the accident to hide what her son had done, but this was only the beginning of Norman's psychotic story.

8 The Relationship Between A Boy And His Mother

The relationship between Norma Bates and her son is disturbing, to say the least. In the continuity of the films, Norma is revealed to have been manipulative and abusive toward Norman, but this isn't quite the case in Bates Motel. Mental illness, very clearly, is inherited in the Bates family, but at the end of the day, Norma cares about her son more than anything.

Norman develops an unhealthy attachment to his mother, and in the movies, this doesn't seem to be warranted, as his memory of his mother is warped. Norma in the series will do anything, legal or otherwise, to ensure the safety of her son, but their relationship is still unnerving in many ways. While Norma isn't physically abusive toward Norman, mentally, she has caused him to become dependant on her, to an unhealthy extent.

7 How Norma Meets Her End

The one thing Psycho fans knew they could expect, at some point, was the death of Norma Bates at the hands of her son. In the timeline of the films, he poisoned his mother and her boyfriend by putting strychnine in their tea. While this was expected to happen near the end of the series, it instead unexpectedly happened in the fourth season, and in a different way.

Norman realizes that it is him and his mother against the world and so he sets out to ensure they are together forever, using their home's broken furnace and carbon monoxide poisoning to kill them both, although he survived. While the original Psycho movie still holds up today, with a dedicated fanbase, this sudden death caught even die-hard fans off guard, while still staying somewhat true to the source material.

6 Norman "Became" Mother Earlier

It is widely believed that in the films, Norman began dressing and talking to himself as his mother after she passed away. But Bates Motel shows that he sees his own twisted version of his mother that tells him to commit horrid crimes before she meets her end. This shows that Norman feels his mother is the only person he can trust, and his mind uses her as a way to rationalize what he does to Bradley, one of his only friends that Norma greatly distrusted.

One could view this as Norma beginning to distance herself from her son to a more healthy level, and Norman creates his own version of Norma that he views as his true mother. In this sense, to Norman at least, Norma died long before he made it a reality.

5 Norman Isn't As Much Of A Victim

The Psycho sequels made it clear that Norman was simply a victim of Norma Bates and her abuse. After the first film, Norman wants desperately to live a normal life, but his mental state is damaged by the memory of his mother. But Bates Motel shows that Norman is mentally ill from the very start, and no help is needed from his mother.

While Norma is neglectful toward her son by not getting him the help he desperately needs, she doesn't contribute to it by abusing him. Norma tries to convince her son that he is mentally well, only urging him to get help after a point. While one could argue he is a victim of neglect, Norma doesn't directly cause Norman's mental issues, as seen in the movies.

4  Marion Crane Doesn't Die

The most iconic scene in Psycho and one of the most shocking character deaths in a horror movie is built up in the final season of Bates Motel when it merges with the events of the film. Marion Crane arrives at the motel after stealing a large sum of money from her employer. Norman is clearly attracted to her, but Mother does not approve.

After talking with Norman, she decides to take a shower before retiring for the night. As the camera follows her into the shower, horror fans know exactly what is to happen. The suspense builds and then ... nothing happens. Marion realizes the error of her ways and leaves the motel alive the following morning. This was one of the first indicators that not even hardcore fans will know what to expect.

3 Norman Kills Sam Loomis

In Psycho, Marion's boyfriend, Sam Loomis (the namesake of the psychiatrist from Halloween), arrives at the motel and is key in unmasking Norman. In the show, he arrives again looking for his girlfriend, but his fate is far worse. In a mirror to the film, Sam decides to stay the night at the motel and takes a shower, where he meets the business end of Norman's knife.

The famous shower scene was recreated after all, although by this time fans had left their guard down, so it was as unexpected as it was in 1960. Killing a different character in a familiar way is the perfect way to describe the effect Bates Motel had on fans of the film, catching them off guard and paying tribute to one of the all-time greats.

2 The Bates Legacy

By the time the events of the film play out, the legacy of the Bates family is already well-known throughout the town. Everyone knows what Norman did, and he has supposedly been helped.

In Bates Motel, Norman's murder of Norma and the events that follow take place in a much shorter amount of time, so word hasn't spread yet. Nobody even knows Norman did it, while in the film it was obvious as soon as Norma was found. This diverges significantly from the film because out of towners can't be warned about the horrors that happened at the Bates house, as nobody but Norman truly knows what happened.

1 Norman's Fate

After the events of Psycho, Norman is institutionalized twice before finding a woman to settle down and have a child with. The Norman in the series suffers a far more tragic end. After inviting Dylan and Emma to dinner with himself and Mother, they discover the horrifying truth.

They find out not only did Norman kill Norma, but he has stolen her body and was under the belief that she was alive and well. This leads to a conflict where Dylan does the only thing he can do to truly save Norman and shoots him. This is a heartbreaking scene that shows Dylan really did care about his younger brother, and prematurely ends the story of Norman Bates.

With Terraria's Summoner class being a more viable option for the players in the newest updates, the class has become a much more popular option for full playthroughs. Some players who never played as a Summoner are now willing to try it out or even find themselves becoming pure Summoners.

But since this class has only recently become one of the best options, many players may not know which armor sets to wear. In a brutal game like Terraria where players can easily find themselves dead if they are not careful, proper armor equipment is important for finishing it.

10 Shinobi Infiltrator Armor

The Shinobi Infiltrator Armor is an excellent set for Summoners who want to focus on some of Terraria's best weapons such as their whips and sentries. With the increased melee damage, speed, and critical strike chance, the Summoner's whips can become absolutely deadly. The 60% more minion damage and three extra sentry slots also make the power of any sentries formidable. This set especially helps Lightning Aura sentries because it increases their speed, size, and critical hit chance.

But the amount of work required to get this armor set might not be worth it. Since it is part of the difficult Old One's Army event, the player can only get these armor pieces by completing the event and buying it from the Tavernkeep using 225 Defender Medals. Plus, by the time this armor set unlocks in hardmode, the player will probably already have access to better alternatives.

9 Bee Armor

As with multiple open-world games like Rust, there are optional battles players can decide to do. One of the optional bosses in pre-hardmode is the Queen Bee boss found in Bee Hives within the Underground Jungle. If the Queen Bee is defeated twice, then the player will have enough Bee Wax to craft the Bee Armor set. With the 23% increased minion damage, two extra minion slots, and the fact that the Bee Queen is one of the easiest bosses in the game, this can definitely be an easily obtainable powerful pre-hardmode armor.

But because the Queen Bee is an optional boss and Bee Hives can be difficult to find, players may enter hardmode without ever fighting the Queen Bee, and the armor set will be replaced by others in hardmode. Also, if the player has managed to craft an Obsidian Armor set, then this set is a downgrade.

8 Flinx Coat

Before even fighting the Eye of Cthulhu boss in pre-hardmode, the player can craft the Flinx Coat, which is unique because it is only one piece rather than a whole set. If the player went into the Underground Ice biome to make a Flinx Staff for their Flinx animal sidekick, one of the best in video games, then they can easily get the materials needed to craft this as well. With the 5% increased minion damage and the extra minion slot, this armor is perfect for early hardmode.

While the armor only provides one defense, it can be coupled with other armor pieces to add more defense. But players can easily skip this armor altogether if they gain access to one of the other pre-hardmode armors.

7 Tiki Armor

If the player has already defeated Plantera, then they can buy the Tiki Armor Set from the Witch Doctor for one platinum and fifty gold coins. While this may seem like a lot of money, the player will likely have even more money at this point in the game, so it is not necessarily a difficult purchase. Since the complete set gives the player four additional minion slots, the player can possibly have a total of 10 minions summoned when combined with other buffs and accessories. The only issue is that by the time the player can get this armor, they will already have access to a stronger armor set: Spooky Armor. Because of this, it may not be worth the cost.

6 Stardust Armor

The Stardust Armor set is the most powerful Summoner armor set in the game, which is crafted from 36 Luminite Bars and 45 Stardust Fragments. This set gives players 38 defense, five extra minion slots, 66% more minion damage, and a powerful Stardust Guardian minion that does not take up a minion slot.

As the final Summoner armor in the game, it is truly an unmatched powerhouse. But it can only be obtained after defeating the final boss, which makes it not as useful as some other armors since the player has already beaten the game.

5 Spider Armor

After defeating the Wall of Flesh and entering hardmode, the first thing Summoner players should absolutely do to make sure they can survive early hardmode is to go into a spider biome. In this biome, the player can get the materials to make some of Terraria's best Summoner minions such as the Spider Staff, the Queen Spider Staff, and Spider Armor. With the three extra minion slots, 28% more minion damage, and 20 defense, this set is an essential early hardmode set.

Although the player will need to kill a lot of Black Recluses to get enough Spider Fangs to make this set, it is worth it while the player is looking for the new ores. Plus, Summoners will already be farming these creatures in order to make the staves anyway.

4 Spooky Armor

Instead of buying the Tiki Armor after beating Plantera, players can make a Pumpkin Moon Medallion and summon the Pumpkin Moon event. If the player defeats enough Splinterlings and Mourning Wood during the event to obtain 750 Spooky Wood, then they can make the Spooky Armor set.

While this armor has the same number of minion slots as the Tiki Armor and has five less defense, it has 58% increased minion damage and 20% increased movement speed, which makes it one of the best Summoner armors in the game. The only issue is that the player needs to know how to craft the medallion and make it through this possibly hard event.

3 Forbidden Armor

If the player is doubling as both a Summoner and Magic class, then this hardmode armor might be the best possible armor to get in the entire game. Along with the 26 defense and two extra minion slots, this armor set also gives the player 80 more mana, 15% mana cost reduction, and 25% increased magic and summon damage. Similar to the Stardust Armor, the player also gets a free extra minion called the Forbidden Sign that the player can use to summon a sand tornado that attacks enemies.

But in order to get this armor set, the player needs to encounter a sandstorm, which is a random event that is easy to miss. Within the sandstorm, the player will need to defeat Sand Elementals since these hard enemies drop the Forbidden Fragments needed to make the set.

2 Obsidian Armor

Obsidian Armor is a true hidden gem within the list of Summoner armors. While this is a pre-hardmode armor, it can remain a viable option for the entire game. The 31% increased minion damage, 35% increased whip speed, 50% increased whip range, and extra minion slot makes it better than many of the hardmode armor sets. Although this means fewer minions, this can be fixed by wearing accessories that increase minion capacity. With this set taking away many of a whip's weaknesses and being easy to make, it makes up for the set's low defense.

1 Hallowed Armor (With Hood)

Even considering some of the later options, the Hallowed Armor set with the Hood Headpiece is overall the best Summoner armor in the game. First off, it is easy to make since the player only needs to kill about two of the mechanical bosses in hardmode to make enough Hallowed Bars. Secondly, the player has three extra minion slots, 10% more minion damage, and 7% increased damage in general.

With the Holy Protection buff that allows players to dodge the next attack by an enemy and the 27 defense, this armor may not be as strong as the Obsidian set, but it does provide much more protection. Plus, the melee issues can be solved by wearing melee boosting accessories.

So far only two Lannister characters have been announced for the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, meaning the Lannisters will likely play a very different role in the plot. Based on George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood series, House of the Dragon is said to take place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The main focus of the prequel is the story of House Targaryen and how the silver-haired, violet-eyed, dragon-riding family became the stuff of legends. Considering that the main plot of House of the Dragon is the Targaryen line, how exactly do the Lannisters fit in?

In addition to the principal Targaryen cast of House of the Dragon, the only Lannisters thus far are twins Lord Jason and Tyland Lannister, both played by Jefferson Hall. Little is said about Lord Jason, other than that he is the Lord of Casterly Rock. Tyland, on the other hand, will be a cunning and artful politician. The Lannisters are still rich in HotD, after all the house's unofficial motto is "a Lannister always pays his debts."  However, because of the part the Lannisters play in Fire and Blood, the house's words, "Hear me roar," might not be embodied in the same way it was in GoT. 

With what is known about Fire and Blood's events it is impossible that the Lannisters will hold the same power and influence in House of the Dragon. Lord Jason is reportedly killed during the Targaryen's Dance of the Dragons, an event set presumably early in the series. Tyland Lannister does become Master of Coin to the Targaryen king. However, the position is short-lived when Tyland is later held captive and tortured. While Tyland does become more integral to the storyline when serving as Hand of the King to Aegon III, that particular subplot may go beyond the scope of the series. Tyrion is held captive, like Tyland, early on in season 1, and eventually is named Hand of the King by Bran. Cersei manipulates her way to the throne and with her twin Jaime's protection, she leaves a trail of blood behind her on her path to power. Tywin makes sure that the shocking moments of the Red Wedding come to pass, brutally wounding the Stark families' rebellion. Jason and Tyland's part in the new series is a far cry from the importance held by Tyrion, Cersei, Jaime, and Tywin in GoT.

Audiences grew attached to the complex and corrupt Lannister family. Their exploits and forever-changing allegiances made the house an interesting one to watch and kept the winding plot of GoT churning, whether they're adversaries or friends. It seems that roles previously filled by Lannisters will be manifested in other characters. While the Lannisters are still wealthy they won't stand out so much as others, such as Lord Corlys Velaryon. Lord Corlys of House Velayron is richer than the Lannisters and has the largest navy in all of Westeros. It is yet to be seen if he is the same ruthless and cunning patriarch Tywin Lannister was. Alicent Hightower parallels Cersei, whose exploits have real historical inspiration, in her own quest for power as Alicent fights to have her son put on the Iron Throne, even if he doesn't deserve to be there.

A talented cast has been announced, such as Paddy Considine as the kind King Viserys Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as the politically savvy Alicent Hightower, and Emma D'Arcy as the stubborn Rhaenyra Targaryen. It will be interesting to see what Jefferson Hall brings to the table as a Lannister with a lot less power than Cersei, Jaime, Tyrion, or Tywin. Love them or hate them, the Lannisters played a pivotal part in Game of Thrones and, despite the finale of Game of Thrones' backlash, excitement for House of the Dragon among fans is palpable. However, with the cast announcements and given what is known about the book, it's hard to imagine how this once powerful family will get the same screen time as before.

In a recent sit-down with the crew behind Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Insomniac’s creative director opened up about how much the blockbuster 2018 animated film influenced Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Just like Into The Spider-Verse, Insomniac’s superhero spin-off saw young Brooklyn teen Miles step into his own as Spider-Man after gaining his powers during the events of 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Insomniac has never been shy about drawing inspiration from all versions of Spider-Man for its acclaimed series of open-world superhero sandbox games, featuring references, moments, and even alternate costumes from various comics and films featuring Marvel’s beloved web-slinging crime fighter. This rings true for last year’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which included an alternate skin based on Miles’s animated appearance in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse - as well as a suit mod that slowed the hero’s movement down to the 12 FPS framerate that the movie utilized to great effect in order to capture the feeling of a comic book come to life.

According to GamesRadar, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’s influence on Spider-Man: Miles Morales ran far deeper than sharing a main protagonist and an alternate costume. As part of a series of round-table discussions regarding Marvel’s Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Insomniac creative director Brian Horton shared how Into The Spider-Verse inspired his team “tremendously” while working on their second Marvel game. “When we saw [Into the Spider-Verse], we had already developed a bit of story for what our game would be […] but we were heartened and freaked out by how good of a story you guys told with Miles,” Horton told Into The Spider-Verse director Peter Ramsey and writers/producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller. “All the small details that you bought into his character really helped us raise our game." Phil Lord then revealed that Insomniac invited him and his team over to check out Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and that they were blown away with Insomniac’s “observation and the details" in Spider-Man: Miles Morales's version of Harlem.

Fans will get to see more of Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s take on the Spider-Man mythos in next year’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse 2, which promises the return of multiversal spider-heroes Miles, Gwen Stacy, and Peter B. Parker - along with a new batch of alternate reality web slingers including Issa Rae as Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman. Meanwhile, Insomniac is currently working on two new titles set in its growing Marvel gaming universe: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which will pit Peter and Miles against the monstrous Venom in a darker storyline than the duo’s previous adventures, and Marvel’s Wolverine, a more mature game centered around the popular Canadian mutant.

Both Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and Insomniac’s top-tier games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales have been monumental in bringing in new fans of one of Marvel’s most iconic characters over the past few years, so it’s cool to hear about how the talented people behind them drew inspiration from one another. Players can expect more references and influences to come in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 when it swings onto the PlayStation 5 sometime in 2023.

Source: GamesRadar

Jango Fett was indirectly responsible for arming Asajj Ventress with her signature red-bladed lightsabers in Star Wars: Clone Wars. Fett and Ventress never met, but the latter killed many of Jango’s clones, who, in the Legends continuity, were his pride and joy, representing his Mandalorian legacy. The two legendary warriors were also, ultimately, pawns of Count Dooku and his Sith Master, Darth Sidious. Through the intricate machinations of Dooku, on behalf of Palpatine, Jango provided the Count with a pair of lightsabers which he later gifted to Ventress upon accepting her as his unofficial Sith Apprentice.

The two properties that showcase these events are the 2002 video game, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, and the 2003 Clone Wars animated series. Both are part of the Legends universe, which was designated the official Star Wars timeline by Lucasfilm before 2014’s continuity revamp. Like the ongoing mainstream canon universe, Legends told a comprehensive story that connected the original and prequel trilogy films and numerous comics, TV shows, video games, novels, and even spinoff movies. Bounty Hunter tells the story of how Jango Fett became the template for the Republic’s Clone Army, tracking down one of Dooku’s apprentices, Komari Vosa, who fell to the dark side and became the leader of the cult-like crime organization The Bando Gora. 

Jango defeats Vosa at the end of Bounty Hunter, and the insane dark side user is promptly executed by Count Dooku, aka Darth Tyrannus. Vosa’s now red-bladed lightsabers, whose curved hilts were patterned after Dooku’s weapon, were taken by Dooku following her death. Years later, Dooku would travel to Rattatak in search of a Sith Apprentice, as shown in Clone Wars. A local Rattataki and warlord, Asajj Ventress, proved herself to be more than worthy of Dooku’s teachings, and the Sith Lord gave her Vosa’s lightsabers as a gift to replace her two previous lightsabers, which Dooku destroyed during their brief duel. Thanks to Jango Fett, Vosa’s weapons were passed down to Ventress, becoming weapons of the Sith.

It’s unclear when Komari Vosa built her curved-hilted lightsabers, but she fought Jango Fett’s Mandalorians on Galidraan with a single blue-bladed weapon that had a straight hilt. As the Bando Gora leader, the weapons closely resembled Dooku’s lightsaber, with similar hilts and red blades, generated by synthetic lightsaber crystals. The lightsabers could be linked together, forming a double-bladed lightsaber, similar to Darth Maul’s or Exar Kun’s.

Asajj Ventress used the late Vosa’s weapons to kill numerous Jedi and clone troopers during the Clone Wars, as shown throughout the Legends-era Clone Wars multimedia project. Unlike his Canon counterpart, the Legends-era Jango Fett cared for his clones, and likely would have felt disgusted for inadvertently arming someone who killed so many of them. The connection between Dooku, Vosa, Jango, and Ventress demonstrates the depth of Palpatine’s schemes for galactic dominance. In one fell swoop, Jango Fett removed a liability to Dooku and Sidious, provided them with the ideal Clone Army, and supplied Dooku with weapons for his eventual Sith Apprentice.

Komari Vosa has no counterpart in the canon timeline, so Asajj’s weapons in canon were presumably built by Ventress during her Sith training under Dooku. Ventress, whose background was changed in canon from Rattataki to Dathomiri, must have intentionally built them to reflect Dooku's curved lightsaber and her fighting style, which blended Makashi and Jar’Kai. In the Legends-era Star Wars: Clone Wars, however, Asajj Ventress got her Sith lightsabers, indirectly, thanks to Jango Fett’s first mission for Count Dooku.